Manchester United opted not to appoint Julen Lopetegui as their new manager due to his similarities with former Arsenal boss Unai Emery.
The Red Devils took a slow and steady approach in their search for a new boss this season, opting to appoint Ralf Rangnick on an interim basis until the best possible candidate was found. It appears that after months of speculation, the club have now settled on Ajax manager Erik ten Hag.
The 52-year-old has impressed in the Eredivisie in how he has created squads that have been competitive in all competitions on a limited budget. The Dutchman’s desire to integrate younger prospects early is also reported to have been a persuasive factor.
But it has taken months for the higher powers at Old Trafford to reach this decision, with ESPN revealing that the club had an eight-man shortlist for the role initially. Sevilla boss Lopetegui was one of the final candidates for the position but opted against him due to how he was unproven at the top level.
The Spaniard has done well at smaller clubs but potentially didn’t have the experience needed to take United back to the very top level. They say that appointing Lopetegui was risking acquiring ‘another Unai Emery’.
Emery has impressed as manager of Villarreal this season, and previously at Sevilla, but he underwhelmed whilst with Arsenal and Paris Saint-Germain – with some suggesting that the Frenchman is more suited to roles where expectations are lower. The former Gunners boss has certainly gone above and beyond at Villarreal this season though, they are currently Champions League semi-finalists having knocked out Bayern Munich earlier this week.
HAVE YOUR SAY! Is Erik ten Hag the right manager for Man Utd? Comment below
PSG boss Mauricio Pochettino was also one of the favourites for the position, but the club felt that Real Madrid were destined to make a move for the former Tottenham Hotspur boss at some point. And given that the Argentine is contracted to Les Parisiens until 2023, appointing him would inevitably mean having to pay the Ligue 1 outfit a significant compensation package.
Luis Enrique, the Spain national team boss, was also on the final shortlist of Solskjaer’s successor, but the World Cup this winter meant that it would have been incredibly tricky to get a deal over the line for the former Barcelona boss. Therefore, all paths led to Ten Hag.
Chelsea ’s Thomas Tuchel was considered for a short while before being unattainable, likewise with Julian Nagelsmann of Bayern. Leicester City were also thriving in the early stages of United’s search which led to Brendan Rodgers making up the initial shortlist, but as the Foxes fell down the table, the chances of the former Liverpool boss being appointed were shortened as well.
Zinedine Zidane was the eighth on the candidacy list, but despite the club ‘seriously considering’ the former Real Madrid boss, they realised that only a vacancy at PSG could tempt the Frenchman to return to the managerial sphere. It remains to be seen whether the Red Devils’ prolonged search for a new coach was time well spent in appointing Ten Hag or whether they will live to regret ruling out one of their previous targets – like Pochettino.
